Step 13: Finishing Touches

Step 14: The Operation And Features of the Hirsch Angocellum Rifle

page by page she leafed through the dilapidated field manual. A growing sense of terror grew within her only strengthenedby the information each addit...

Instructables has a huge variety of Steampunk* and Cyberpunk* Guns that are true testiments to the creative genious of their makers but I'm often disapointed that they are no more than costume pieces (even if they are truly awesome to look at). I find myself thinking "wow that's incredible . . .it'd be really cool if it worked too!" and so I set out to create a rifle that will actually fire a bullet accurately but at the same time looks really steam/cyberpunk!

***NOTE:: I do not claim to even be knowledgeable much less an expert on the steampunk and cyberpunk styles . . . I'm merely an intrigued outsider. I've always been interested in this type of stuff but in reality there are people much more in tune to this universe than me. If you're one of those people please feel free to critique my design and terminology but please remember to be constructive and follow the "be nice" policy!

***Safety Note/Disclaimer*** I've been around power tools since I could walk and so there's a lot of safety issues that are innate to me that I probably will fail to mention. These powerful devices are extremely dangerous so extreme caution is required if you plan to follow these instructions. Never operate any of these tools without someone else present or at least within earshot. Hearing and Eye protection are a must and for heaven's sake keep your fingers away from anything sharp and/or moving!
Also, the finished product will be dangerous as it IS functional and it is up to YOU to make sure you're being safe with it.

Less artistic but equally lethal are the Quackenbush airguns: http://www.quackenbushairguns.com/index.htm Before there was assault rifles, there were assault air guns: http://www.beemans.net/images/Austrian%20airguns.htm http://www.beemans.net/lewis-assault-rifle.htm

It fits very well and comfortably and it can handle a little bit of recoil but since the projectile is not very dense and isn't accelerating very quickly (compared to a supersonic bullet from a high power rifle for example) the recoil is fairly minimal. This wouldn't translate too well to a more intense gun since the barrel is just strapped on top (risk of it sliding backwards off the stock and since it's not centered top to bottom, there would be lots of barrel rise) but with some modifications it certainly could work for something bigger.

So after a long weekend and many hours swearing and taking the thing apart i have managed to fix it, there was a hole in the diaphragm and then it wouldn't seal and blahblahblah. main point is. its fixed and works now. i epoxied the hole where the solenoid was and started shooting balls of paper all over my basement. yay! i started testing it with bigger things and more psi and then things went bad. I could get it up to about 60 psi then the epoxy broke and all my air leaked out :/ im using gorilla epoxy. i just keep refixing the hole, but it will always break at right around 60 psi. Is there any stuff I could use that's better? what about JB weld?

it sounds like if the epoxy you're using is breaking off the rubber then it isn't getting a good bond with it. You'll need to locate something that actually bonds with rubber as opposed to just sticking to it. I doubt jbweld would work unfortunately since it's not meant to give a flexible bond... I wonder if something rubber based would work better. You might try using a bit of inner tube and some rubber cement on both sides of the hole? Just make super sure to follow the instructions properly or you won't get the best of bonds (more of a general for everyone's info as opposed to being directed at you). They also have tire patch kits at auto stores that may even work out better for you...tires are made to be under pressure so it stands to reason the glue in those is rubber-bondable...

Failing that you could attempt to create a new diaphragm or source another hole-less one. How big is the hole?

It's about 9" long or so. I use a bicycle pump to fill it up and it takes less than 30 seconds to fill. If I use a compressor with the air pressure regulated then I can fill it in about a second or less but those are much less portable. The actual size of the tank isn't terribly critical but if it's too small then your volume of air (in its uncompressed state) is rather lacking as far as pushing your projectile out... at the extreme end of the spectrum you won't have enough air to actually push it all the way out even when momentum is considered. Too big and your only issue is wasted air pressure since the projectile will be long gone before the tank is "empty". I would err on the side of too big since you can always just slap on a longer barrel. I did some research ahead of time and figured out for my volume of air, how long the barrel should be. Mine's still a tiny bit too short but the compressed air coming out the end causing vapor to form is pretty stinkin cool to look at so I don't mind. There are several websites (or were at the time of the build) that have calculators to work out dimensions for the ideal ratio if you don't want to do it all long hand.

That's so awesome! Be sure to post an ible or at least some photos when you're done! The world can always use a bit more awesome :D

As far as a pressure gauge goes: generally you'd want to put it somewhere that lets you go through 2 layers of pipe (for structural reasons). I'd personally place it near the top if it was fixed or perhaps attach a barb, some hose, and then the gauge can go literally anywhere (it could go inside a hollowed out portion of the stock for example) and if you used steel braided hose it could look pretty stinkin' legit (imho of course). Just go with what appeals to you most :D

OH. and i'd like to take a minute to rant about the most annoying thing about this whole project. that damn solenoid sprinkler valve. I drove around to three different home depots and two different lowe's who ALL said they had it in stock. I finally gave up and ordered it online (13$ on amazon). apparently, sprinkler valves are a 'seasonal' item, and they're all put away in hibernation till summer. >:(

and i had to order the shrader valve online too ($2 on amazon. aka Brady air intake valve) because lowe's and home depot don't stock anything like it and the closest ace hardware is 90 miles from my house and out of stock

Yeah those shraeder valves can be a bit of a pain to locate. I've got the good fortune to live near a couple different ace hardwares and even then I had to go to the right one to find it. I've seen it done by cutting apart an old bicycle inner tube but they don't have the same appeal as brass or the same structural integrity. It's interesting to know that sprinkler valves are seasonal though! I guess in Arizona (where we insist on pretending we don't live in a desert) they're a bit more accessible... kudos for amazon tho eh? 13 bucks isn't too bad for one of those!

Very interesting to see a modern take on the construction of a 'steampunk' airgun. Airguns actually do go back to the later 1700s having been used by the Prussians against the Turks. Lewis of Lewis and Clark fame also carried an air rifle.

I'll go through my old sketches and whatnot but the full scale drawing doesn't exist any more. . . I cut it out and pasted it onto the board to make use of it as a guide. If I can't find the sketches I'd be happy to give any advice you want or help with drafting in some way.

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Bio:I am a recent recipient of a BS in Computer Science. Currently working for an eDiscovery company as a web repository technician (hosting, searching and helping attorneys to process their electronic da...read more »